Eupelmus (Eupelmus) stramineipes, Nikol'skaya, 1952

Gibson, Gary A. P., 2011, 2951, Zootaxa 2951, pp. 1-97 : 75-77

13. Eupelmus (Eupelmus) stramineipes Nikol’skaya

Figs 17, 18, 52; Map 12

Eupelmus stramineipes Nikol’skaya, 1952: 498 [Russian], 512 [English]. Syntypes, both sexes (ZINR, not examined). Type data: USSR: Soviet Central Asia.

Eupelmus velenceensis Erdős, 1955: 36 [Hungarian], 45 [Latin]. Lectotype female, designated by Thuróczy, 1992: 140 (HNHM, not examined). Type data: Hungary: Gárdony. Synonymy by Bouček, 1965a: 546.

Description. FEMALE ( Fig. 17) Length about 2.8–3.5 mm. Head metallic green with variably extensive coppery luster under some angles of light; maxillary and labial palpi yellowish-white. Antenna dark brown except scape with metallic green luster under some angles of light. Mesosoma metallic green to bluish-green except tegula yellow, depressed posteromedian portion of mesoscutum and lateral panel of pronotum sometimes with coppery luster, acropleuron more brownish with limited green luster under some angles of light, and propodeal plical region brown. Forewing hyaline with yellowish-brown setae similar to venation. Legs yellow beyond coxae except for dark mesotarsal pegs, small subbasal brownish region on all tibiae, and apical tarsomere of at least metatarsus. Gaster similar in color to mesosoma except hypopygium brown and dorsally sometimes brown or with limited coppery luster under some angle of light, and with comparatively inconspicuous hairlike setae; ovipositor sheaths with about basal third dark brown, the apical two-thirds yellowish to variably distinctly brownish distally, but without distinctly delineated apical brown region.

Head with frons largely meshlike coriaceous and smoothly, indistinguishably merged into parascrobal region, but vertex more transversely coriaceous-alutaceous to somewhat imbricate posteriorly; scrobal depression slightly more strongly sculptured than frons, shallowly reticulate to reticulate-punctate; IOD about 0.4× head width; OOL: POL: LOL: MOD = 0.8: 2.2: 1.4: 1.0. Antenna with combined length of flagellum + pedicel about 1.25–1.3× head width; scape about 3.2× as long as maximum width, in outer view ventral margin distinctly sinuate in ventral half, delineating expanded flange subbasally; pedicel in lateral view about 2.5× as long as wide; f1 about 1.25–1.3× as long as wide, and about 0.45× length of pedicel; f2 about 1.8–1.9× as long as wide and 1.4–1.7× as long as f1; subsequent funiculars increasing in width to slightly transverse fl8; clava about 1.5–1.7× as wide as long, 0.7–0.8× combined length of apical three funiculars, and 0.25–0.3× length of funicle. Mesoscutum almost uniformly meshlike coriaceous to very slightly reticulate-coriaceous except lateral lobe minutely coriaceous dorsolongitudinally. Scutellar-axillar complex with axillae reticulate to reticulate-imbricate, but scutellum meshlike coriaceous, the cells similar in size to dorsolongitudinal cells on lateral lobe. Prepectus bare. Acropleuron very finely, meshlike coriaceous anterior and posterior of medial microsculptured region, the cells larger posterior than anterior of the medial region. Forewing setose except for linea calva; costal cell ventrally setose with at least 3 lines along length toward leading margin and dorsally with line of whitish setae near leading margin over about apical two-thirds; cc: mv: pmv: stv = 3.9–4.3: 3.6–4.0: 1.6–1.7: 1.0. Mesotibia without apical pegs ( Fig. 18); mesotarsus ventrally with brownish rather than black pegs on basal three tarsomeres, the basitarsus with about 20–25 pegs arranged in irregular double row over most of length on either side, second tarsomere with 6–8 pegs and third tarsomere with 3 or 4 pegs in row on either side. Propodeum with short plical region and median carina behind dorsellum, the V-like plical depression not extending to foramen, callus with comparatively sparse white setae not concealing cuticle or sculpture. Gaster with inner plate of ovipositor not extending beyond apex; ovipositor sheaths about 0.6–0.7× length of marginal vein and about 0.5–0.6× length of metatibia.

MALE (Fig. 52). Length about 3 mm. Head metallic green to bluish-green with coppery luster on frontovertex under some angles of light; maxillary and labial palpi white. Antenna dark brown except about ventral half of outer surface of scape (concave portion) light colored, yellowish to white. Mesosoma metallic green except tegula yellow, mesoscutal medial lobe and axillae anteriorly, and scutellum laterally, with purple luster under some angles of light, and mesopleuron with acropleuron and band along anterior margin of femoral depression and transepisternal line brownish. Legs extensively yellowish beyond coxae, the pro- and mesofemur dark brown ventrally over most of length, the mesofemur also slightly brownish dorsally, and metafemur more extensively brown, yellowish only basally, apically, and narrowly long ventral surface; tibiae, except variably widely basally and apically, brown dorsally and ventrally with lateral surfaces yellowish; and tarsi with apical tarsomeres brownish. Forewing hyaline. Gaster with basal tergum metallic green, the remainder brown.

Head with frons meshlike coriaceous to very slightly reticulate, the scrobal depression slightly more distinctly reticulate. Head with IOD about 0.5× head width; OOL: POL: LOL: MPOD = 0.8: 2.8: 1.5: 1.0; lower face with sparse white setae below torulus and with one longer seta laterally above malar sulcus opposite long seta on gena below malar sulcus near base of mandible. Antenna with scape ovoid, about 2.25× as long as maximum width, with broad scapular scrobe and broad micropunctate region extending almost entire length of scape; length of pedicel + flagellum at most about 1.2× head width (approximate because flagellum curved); pedicel about 2.4× as long as wide, subequal in length to basal two flagellomeres, and with about ten, straight to only slightly distally curved setae along ventral margin; flagellum short-clavate with very short, dense setae not extending conspicuously from flagellomere; fl1 setose, slightly longer than wide and only slightly shorter than fl2; fl2 about 1.2× as long as wide and subsequent funiculars decreasing in length and increasing in width to transverse (1.6× as wide as long) fl8; clava broadly oval with micropilose sensory occupying entire ventral surface, about 1.3× as long as wide and about as long as apical three funiculars. Mesonotum and axillae finely, meshlike reticulate; scutellum broadly coriaceous mesally to very slightly imbricate laterally, but without differentiated frenum. Propodeal plical region finely meshlike coriaceous on either side of median carina, and callus similarly coriaceous with setae originating from tiny bumps. Forewing with cc: mv: pmv: stv = 3.7: 2.6: 1.5: 1.0; costal cell dorsally with line of dark setae extending over about apical two-thirds, and ventrally with dark setae continuously along length, mesally with at least 3 lines.

Regional material examined (4♀, 1♂). USA. DELAWARE: Sussex Co., Dewey Beach, 27.VIII-1.IX.72, L. Knutson, Malaise Trap (3♀, 1 ♂ USNM; ♀ CNC Photo 2010-9, ♂ CNC Photo 2010-10) . NEW YORK: Richmond Co., Staten Island , 21.VI.74, B. Saffer (1♀ FSCA) .

Distribution. Known only from coastal Delaware and New York (Map. 12). Based on its regional distribution, E. stramineipes was undoubtedly introduced accidentally into the USA from the Palaearctic region sometime prior to 1972. Noyes (2010) listed 11 countries in Europe and central Asia for its distribution.

Biology. Unknown from region, but in Europe reared from Phragmites Adanson (Poaceae) , including the common reed Phragmites australis (Cavanilles) [= P. communis (Trinius) ] ( Bouček 1965a, 1977).

Remarks. My concept of the name E. stramineipes is based on two females and one male reared from Phragmites in Romania by Lucian Fusu (AICF) who identified them following comparison with a female paralectotype of E. velenceensis . Females of E. stramineipes are uniquely differentiated from other regional species by their color pattern (head and body primarily green but palpi yellowish-white and tegula and legs beyond coxa yellow, Fig. 17) in combination with absence of mesotibial apical pegs ( Fig. 18). Males (Fig. 52) are also differentiated by color of the labiomaxillary complex, tegula, and legs in combination with a comparatively short and strongly clavate flagellum. In addition, the scape has an unusually broad micropunctate sensory region that extends almost the entire length of the scape, being even larger than that illustrated for E. annulatus ( Fig. 80), and the long pedicel has an unusually large number of straight or only very slightly distally curved setae along its ventral length.

The short plical region behind the somewhat V-shaped propodeal plical depression, bare prepectus, lack of mesotibial pegs, and more brown than black mesotarsal pegs in females all suggest that E. stramineipes represents a comparatively basal clade of E. ( Eupelmus ) that retains several symplesiomorphic features resembling those of females of E. ( Episolindelia ).